


you would not believe (what her smile hides)

by cluelesslexicon



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Also a slowburn of the matchstick variety, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, M for swearing, Mentions of abuse/trauma, fluff with mild angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-20 13:14:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16137998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cluelesslexicon/pseuds/cluelesslexicon
Summary: It wasn’t Kara’s fault she missed nearly a month of class. It was the fault of the stupid defender who stepped on her ankle instead of the ball. She would have much rather sat through weekly lectures than received surgery on her ankle.Her mathematics professor, Professor “Snapper” Carr, didn’t seem to take it that way. When she showed up to his office hours (hobbling on crutches and lugging a huge boot on her right foot), he’d merely grunted and asked her why she had missed 6 quizzes, 12 homework sets, and 3 discussions. Kara had explained ("She was going for a tackle and I juked her but her cleat caught my ankle full on and it fractured the bone and then I had to get surgery"), but he cut her off.“That’s a very tragic story and all Miss Danvers, but that doesn’t make up all the points you’ve missed.”orKara misses 3 weeks of class and needs a tutor to help her make up the assignments. Enter Lena Luthor.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: First Impressions**

 

It wasn’t Kara’s fault she missed nearly a month of class. It was the fault of the stupid defender who stepped on her ankle instead of the ball. She would have much rather sat through weekly lectures than received surgery on her ankle. Her mathematics professor, Professor “Snapper” Carr, didn’t seem to take it that way. When she showed up to his office hours (hobbling on crutches and lugging a huge boot on her right foot), he’d merely grunted and asked her why she had missed 6 quizzes, 12 homework sets, and 3 discussions. Kara had explained ( _She was going for a tackle and I juked her but her cleat caught my ankle full on and it fractured the bone and then I had to get surgery)_ , but he cut her off.

“That’s a very tragic story and all Miss Danvers, but that doesn’t make up all the points you’ve missed.”

Kara flailed her arms about, “I have a doctor’s notes and everything! The reason I missed so much class was because I was injured on the other side of the country and then I was bedridden after the surgery. I wasn’t skipping! Isn’t that enough to get me permission to make up the points?”

Professor Carr narrowed his eyes at her, “I think it would be best if you just dropped this class.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Why not?” Snapper questioned, “Last I checked, you were a journalism major and not a mathematician.”

“Math is my release! This class is like, is like therapy for me. That’s why I want to take it. A-and I’m pretty good at math so I know I can catch up.” The words tumbled out of her mouth so fast they were nearly unintelligible.

Snapper regarded her with narrowed eyes before snorting derisively. “Whatever floats your boat, Ponytail, but don’t come crying to me when this class sinks you GPA. I’ll let you make up 80% of the points for the assignments you missed.” He typed something into his computer, “But don’t expect anymore favors. You can leave now.”

Seething on the inside, but playing the thankful student on the outside, Kara thanked him and then took off as fast as her crutches would allow. Once she reached the main quad, she slowed her pace and basked in the sun’s light. It was a welcome change from the austere, constricting feel of Snapper’s office. Taking a deep breath, Kara gave herself a pep talk. _I am going to do this. I am good at math. It won’t be that hard to catch up if I just work hard. I can do this._

#####

 

_I can’t do this_

Kara groaned. She was nearly 2 hours into her first math study session and she hadn’t understood a single concept. Deciding she deserved some food as a reward for trying, she wandered into the kitchen area of her apartment. She had just started spreading the peanut butter on her sandwich when the door banged open and one of her apartment-mates barged in.

Lucy Lane was short, had brunette hair, and a razor-sharp mind. She was fierce, loyal, and never backed-down.

Kara had hated her the first time they met. It was freshman year and they had been assigned to the same dorm room. Their personalities clashed from day one. Kara saw Lucy as uptight and aggressive. She was in Army ROTC and was up at the crack of dawn every day. Lucy, in turn, was annoyed at how cheery Kara seemed and constantly told Kara she was naïve. Kara preferred to stay up late and eat junk food, and to Lucy that was unacceptable.

Then one day Kara had walked in on Lucy crying in their dorm. In between sobs, she had revealed how her father was pressuring her to make the army her career and how she always felt like he compared her to her sister and found her not good enough. Kara found out that was why Lucy was in the ROTC and why she always seemed high-strung.

That day she had just held Lucy and let her get it all out. From there on out, their relationship improved. She came to appreciate the other girl as being determined and focused. Lucy learned to see Kara as compassionate and caring.

In the present day, Lucy hadn’t changed. Well, she had made some changes to her life, like leaving Army ROTC and going pre-law, that allowed her to find the best version of herself. But she remained one of Kara’s closest friends.

Unfortunately, for Kara, Lucy took her duty as ‘bestest friend’ very seriously. And usually that meant dragging Kara out to parties to socialize so she wouldn’t “become dried and shriveled like your books, Kara”. While Lucy appreciated hard work, she also had come to appreciate letting loose.

So that was why when Lucy leveled Kara with _the look_ , Kara knew she was in trouble. Hands on hips, Lucy started, “You, Miss Danvers are coming out tonight with your sister and I.”

Kara groaned, but Lucy didn’t let her get a word out. “Oh, come on. You’ve been inside for almost a month now on bed rest. It’s going to be a lowkey night. Me, you, Alex, Winn, and James. You don’t even have to drink. I just want to you to get out. Get your mind off not being able to play soccer.”

“Lucy, I’m fine. Plus, I need to catch up on 3 weeks’ worth of work for my math class.”

“Let loose a little bit and then come back to your work.”

“I’m in my pjs and my hair isn’t washed.”

Lucy just continued to look at her.

Kara squirmed, “Fine, but just a low-key night.”

 

30 minutes later Kara found herself sitting in a booth, hair hidden under a backwards snapback and pjs exchanged for soccer joggers and a loose t-shirt. Sitting next to her was her sister, Alex, while James and Winn were across from her.

Alex was 4 years older than Kara and had short red hair. She worked with the local FBI branch as a forensic investigator. Unlike her sister, she gave off more of a dark mysterious vibe, but, like her sister, she was loyal to her friends and very protective of the people she cared about. Across from Alex sat Winn. Winn was the same age as Kara with short round brown hair and the personality of an excitable puppy. He was a computer science major but had met Kara in a gen ed class their freshman year and the two had hit if off right away. Next to Winn was James. James and Winn met through Kara and were now rooming together in an apartment near Kara’s. James himself was tall with a shaved head and a passion for photography and social justice. He was quieter than the rest of the group but never missed a thing.

 Lucy was at the bar getting them drinks, but Kara distinctly saw her flirting with the bartender instead. Kara noted that James was also looking in the direction of the bar. When his eyes found Lucy, who was currently redoing the bartenders tie, he frowned before turning to Kara.

“So, how did the meeting with Professor Carr go?”

Kara grimaced, “They don’t call him ‘Snapper’ for nothing. He didn’t want to let me make up the points I missed at first. Even though I had a doctor’s note. And then he kept calling me ‘Ponytail’, which was totally deeming and not cool.”

“What?”, yelped Winn.

“That doesn’t seem fair,” James said.

Alex, who had been staring off at a wall, seemed to come back to. “Did he finally agree to let you make up those points? Because he can’t deny you that.” She gesticulated wildly with her beer bottle, “You have proper documentation. Do you need me to go talk some sense into him?”

“Whoa, whoa, Alex,” Kara grabbed her sister’s arm to stop her from spilling her beer. “Yes, he did agree to let me make up them up.”

“Good,” Alex muttered.

At that moment, Lucy appeared at the table with drinks. “What did I miss?”

“Kara had to fight Professor Carr for the right to make up points in the class,” Winn piped up, “And then Alex offered to go beat him up.”

“Mmm,” Lucy hummed, looking Alex over. Alex merely shrugged, grabbing two shots and downing them. “Well how is the homework going Kara?”

“Terribly. I don’t understand anything. Maybe I shouldn’t have convinced Snapper to let me stay in the class.”

“Don’t say that,” Winn said around the mouth of his beer, “You’re really smart. Once you get a start you’ll figure it all out.”

“Yeah, but how do I get that start?” Kara mused, turning her root beer in her hands.

James spoke up, “I know that the U has programs where grad students tutor undergrads. Maybe you should look into that.”

“I will, thanks, James.”

“Anytime.”

“Great,” Lucy exclaimed, “Now let’s start the party!!”

“Lucy!”

“Just kidding, Kara!”

 

#####

 

Three days later, Kara caved and signed up for tutoring. She had been staying up until nearly 2am every night tying to do her all her homework and Lucy had finally put her foot down and staged an intervention. After a sternly worded conversation about self-care and stress, Kara had looked up tutors through the grads-for-undergrads program National City University ran. The only available slot had been on Tuesday nights from 7-9 pm with tutor, Lena L.

So, that Tuesday at 6:30pm, Kara found herself on the front lawn of Watkin’s library, staring at the glowing yellow windows. She was nervous. She needed this tutoring to work out, because if it didn’t she would have to drop the class– and that would prove Snapper right. With a sigh, she headed into the building.

Kara crutched herself up the stairs to the 3rd floor. Cautiously she entered the floor, searching for someone who looked like a ‘Lena’. In the back corner, she found a likely candidate. The woman had long, raven black hair and was bent over the table, taking notes.

Kara lingered by the stacks, unwilling to interrupt. After hovering for nearly a minute, Kara cleared her throat. “Uh, excuse me?”

The woman’s head snapped up. She regarded Kara with narrowed eyes, “Can I help you?”

Kara gulped a little bit at her tone, “Uh hello. Are you Lena L? My name is Kara.”

A tiny frown creased Lena’s face.

Kara rushed to continue, “But if you’re not Lena sorry to bother you. I’ll just be going. Sorry!”

“I am Lena. What did you need?”

“Oh, I’m here for tutoring!”

Lena seemed confused, “You’re here for tutoring? With me?”

“Yes, is that a problem?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“Great!” Kara said cheerily. She set her stuff down across from Lena. “I missed the first 3 weeks of class because I got injured,” she waved vaguely at her leg, “So I’m super far behind.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem, if you're willing to learn.” Lena replied. “What is your major?”

“Journalism. And I also play soccer for the NCU women’s club team. That’s how I broke my ankle. A defender made a clumsy tackle on me.”

“I see.”

Kara waited for Lena to say more but she didn’t. Nervously, Kara fiddled with her glasses. “So, should we get started?”

For the next 2 hours, Lena walked Kara through the basics. Lena was a good tutor, she patiently let Kara talk through each problem and concept, correcting her when she misunderstood. Throughout the session, Lena remained distant and maintained a professional tone. It bothered Kara more than she would have liked to admit. Still, she couldn’t complain. By the end of the session, she felt more confident that she would catch up.

As she was packing up, she brought up a question that had been nagging her for a while, “Hey Lena. I’m sure you’re super busy, but would you be available to meet more than once a week? It’s just that I am really behind in this class and it’s difficult to balance learning new and old stuff at the same time and…actually don’t worry I can build on this by myself you’re a grad student so you’re like super busy.” She took a deep breath and looked up to find Lena staring at her with a neutral face.

“If you would be willing to meet more with me, I do have some time in my schedule early on Monday and Thursday mornings at 7:00 am.”

“Thank you! Thank you so so much!” Kara leapt forward to grab Lena in a hug. She felt the other women flinch and then stiffen in her arms. Kara let go so fast she fell over, the heavy boot tripping her. “Sorry! I’m super touchy! I for sure should’ve asked for permission before I went for the hug. Sorry.”

For an agonizing moment, Lena remained frozen, then, “I will see you Thursday at 7 right here.” She swept her bag over her shoulder and stalked out.

From her position on the floor, Kara let out large sigh and let her head fall to the floor.

_Way to go._

#####

 

Lena Luthor didn’t do confused. You could ask anyone. No matter the information, she never appeared fazed.

Kara confused her.

Kara Danvers, as it turned out, was the star player for the women’s club soccer. She had mentioned playing soccer, but in the moment Lena hadn’t paid the information much attention. Now, it was all Lena could think about. There were so many pictures of Kara where her muscles when on full display as she sprinted towards goal or tackled the ball away from another player.

Wrenching herself away from the pictures, Lena looked into Kara’s academic exploits. Kara had mentioned she was a journalism major, but Lena was also surprised to find that she was a research assistant to Professor Cat Grant. Well, more like errand girl for Cat Grant, if Lena believed the rumors about the professor. Cat Grant was one of the most highly respected and feared professors at NCU. She taught the most popular upper division journalism classes and had rigorous academic standards. More than one student had been observed leaving her office hours near tears.

Scrolling further, Lena spotted an article in the campus newspaper, the NCU Circulator. The article lauded Kara’s efforts with the soccer team. Another article below that one listed Kara as being on the Dean’s List.

Next to her laptop, Lena’s phone rang. Without checking the caller ID, Lena picked up.

“Lena Luthor speaking.”

“Do you always answer the phone like that?” a voiced asked on the other end of the line.

“Jack!” Lena exclaimed. “How are you? I take it your business retreat is over?”

Jack Spheer was one of two people in the world that Lena counted as a friend. He was a few years older than Lena and was attending NCU for his Masters in Business Management. Jack was heir to Spheer Industries and over the weekend he had be sequestered away on a retreat with his father and the other board members.

“Yes, thank the heavens. If I had to spend one more minute listening to them complaining that the caviar wasn’t up to par I might’ve had to break something. Preferably, one of their skulls.”

Lena snorted, “How civil of you.”

“It was awful. What’s new with you?”

“Oh, nothing much. Same busy schedule. Same crushing pressure from my mother. Although, I am tutoring someone in math currently.”

“Hmm, who is it?” Jack asked, followed by some muffled shouting.

“Jack, are you okay?” Lena asked hesitantly.

“Wha-? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Some idiot decided to turn right on red and not look first. Don’t worry, I’m good though. So, who are you tutoring?”

“Some journalism major named Kara Danvers.”

“Wait! Seriously?” Jack exclaimed.

Lena yanked the phone away from her ear. “I take it you know her?”

“Not personally,” Jack said, “but I know of her. She’s a star athlete. Her nickname is ‘Supergirl’. Lead the NCU Club Soccer Team to National’s last year. They won it too thanks to her. I’ve also heard rumors that Cat Grant describes her as ‘competent’, which by Cat Grant standards is absolutely glowing praise.”

Lena frowned, “How do you know so much about her?”

“Because I pay attention to what goes on at the University, Lena. Why are you tutoring her?”

"She broke her ankle playing soccer and missed class. She needs help catching up."

"She broke her ankle?" Jack whistled. "That's rough."

Lena paused, “She didn’t seem to care about my last name.”

“Sounds on brand, she’s famous for being extremely friendly.”

“I’m having a hard time believing someone is that friendly. My last name doesn’t really scream ‘get to know this person’. She must be playing some game.”

Jack sighed exasperatedly. “Give her a chance Lena. Maybe she’ll be one of the best things to happen to you.”

Lena snorted.

A car door slammed in the background. “Listen, Lena. I have to drive now but I just wanted to call to check-in. Meet at Sabrosi’s at 8 for food?”

“Sounds good. Bye.”

“Bye, Lena.”

Lena hung up, her eyes focusing on the picture of Kara pulled up on her laptop. She noted the curve of Kara’s biceps, the blinding smile, the stunningly bright blue eyes.

Shaking her head, Lena stood up. _I’ll figure you out, Kara Danvers, just you wait._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys.
> 
> This is my first fanfiction, and to be honest, the first work I've ever posted for anyone to ever read. It's an AU I've been wanting to write about so I just decided to adapt it to Supergirl characters. I hope y'all like it. Constructive criticism appreciated. No beta either lol just me reading through to clean things up.
> 
> Also, I don't really watch Supergirl anymore so bear with me while I try and stay true the characters personalities while ignoring (and having no idea about) the new seasons.
> 
> It's gonna be a multi-chapter work but I only have the first 2(read: one and a half) written so far. Also, life is a thing so I don't know how fast I'll churn the chapters out.
> 
> Yeahhhh, that's about it. 
> 
> Cheers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:  Coffee and Donuts**

            Kara brought donuts and coffee to the Thursday morning tutoring session. She felt it was the least she could do given that Lena was giving up her precious time to help her. After spending 10 minutes agonizing over what kind of coffee Lena would drink, Kara had settled on a plain dark roast for Lena and a medium roast loaded with creamer and sugar for herself. She had also picked up 2 glazed donuts and 2 crème-filled, sprinkled donuts. Navigating the stairs in Watkin’s gave Kara trouble–the boot was just so clunky and crutches were not ideal for holding lots of food–but she made it to the table just as the sun peaked over the horizon.

The look of pure shock on Lena’s face when Kara set the coffee and donuts down in front of her made Kara’s heart rate skyrocket. _Did I fuck up?_

After a moment, Lena cleared her throat. “Uh what is this?”

“Some coffee and donuts. It’s dark roast, no sugar or anything. But if you don’t like that the other coffee is a medium roast with loads of creamer and stuff. Uh, and some donuts too. The glazed ones are normal, but the sprinkled ones have fillings. I wanted to say thanks for agreeing to tutor me more. And I figured, you know, that coffee was a good thank you.”

Lena tentatively reached for the dark roast. Kara gave her a small smile, trying to calm her racing heart. _She doesn’t seem mad. That’s a good sign! She seems surprised and wary. That’s sort of sad._

Lena’s voice broke Kara out of her thoughts.

 “I received a mechanical engineering degree from MIT and I’m here for my Masters in computer programming.” Kara tilted her head, unsure of how to react to Lena’s sudden outburst of information.

The raven-haired woman took a shaky breath. “You shared your major on Tuesday and I felt like I should return the gesture.” Lena cleared her throat. “Anyways, let’s begin today’s session.”

 

#####

“How has your life been, Lucy?” Kara peered over her soup at her friend. The two of them were out on their biweekly lunch date. Kara hadn’t seen Lucy in nearly 3 days because of their busy schedules and was looking forward to catching up on Lucy’s life.

“It’s been packed with class and studying lately. I have over one hundred pages of reading a night between all of my classes.

 Also, James has been acting weird around me lately. I was supposed to interview him for a social justice paper but he rescheduled on me twice and when we finally sat down he was super stiff and distant. It was really weird.”

Kara pulled a face, spoon in mouth, “That is weird. I wonder if something’s happened.”

“Maybe,” Lucy muttered. She picked at her food for a minute.

“Hey Kara?”

“Yeah?”

Lucy’s voice was soft, “Do you think he figured out that I like him? And that it freaked him out and now he’s avoiding me?”

“Uh”. Relationships were not one of Kara’s strong suits. She had only ever been in one, serious long-term relationship. Mike “Mon El” Monelarisso had seemed like the he would be the ‘one’ at the beginning of their time together but as the relationship dragged on it became clear he was self-absorbed and prone to gaslighting. When Kara had finally broken it off it had been ugly. It had taken Kara weeks and weeks to get back to her usual self, but ever since then she had avoided relationships.

“I don’t think it’s that. I mean maybe? He was looking at you while you were flirting with the bartender a couple of nights ago. And then he frowned. But like that might not mean anything?”

Lucy’s frowned deepened.

“I think you should just go talk to him?” Kara offered. Giving Lucy advice felt awkward, but she was determined to try.

Eventually, Lucy sighed. “You’re probably right. I’ll go talk to him and see if it’s me or something else that has him acting weirdly.” A smile took over Lucy’s face, “What’s new in your life? How’s the tutoring going?”

“Tutoring is going well. She’s a really good teacher.”

“Who’s it again?”

“Lena. She’s here for a masters in computer programming.”

“Lena? That sounds familiar what does she look like?”

“Uh dark hair, pale skin, green eyes, and” suddenly Kara spotted someone over Lucy’s shoulder. “… she’s right over there.”

Lucy’s head whipped around so quickly her neck cricked. “Lena Luthor! Your tutor Lex Luthor’s sister!”

“Lex Luthor…didn’t he kill a bunch of people our sophomore year?”

“Uh yeah, Kara. He set off 7 bombs at once in Metropolis? Don’t you remember?”

“That was sort of when I was spiraling after the break-up.”

Lucy’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry Kara. But do you really want someone like her to teach you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that she might be just like Lex. Hanging around her will only lead to bad things.”

“Hello,” a voice said. Lena Luthor was standing beside their table.

“Hey Lena!” Kara exclaimed.

Lucy just stared Lena down.

Kara cleared her throat, shooting Lucy a look, “Lucy, this is Lena. Lena, this is Lucy one of closest friends.”

“A pleasure,” Lena said, her eyes boring into Lucy. “This is my friend Sam,” From behind her, Sam, a tall brunette, gave a curt nod.

“Hey Sam,” Kara gave a small wave. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Its our weekly lunch date,” Sam said from behind Lena.

“That’s nice! Lucy and I are doing the same thing. Life gets so hectic doesn’t it?”

Lena cleared her throat, “Yes I suppose it does. I just stopped over to say hello, don’t let me interrupt your…date.”

“Bye!” Kara aimed another wave at the two women. Sam nodded while Lucy and Lena locked eyes again.

After they had moved away, Kara kicked Lucy in the shin.

“Ouch!”

“You could’ve been nicer.”

“I was nice.”

“Bullshit, Lucy. She’s not her brother. And she’s a really good tutor. I’m going to get to know her and not make snap judgments.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, “I don’t like her, so, just be careful.”

#####

Lena stalked over to a table, one as far away as possible from a certain sunny blonde and her distinctly more judgmental companion. She chose a seat that put her back to Kara and Lucy and moodily stabbed at her Caesar salad.

Sam sat down as well, gesturing at Lena’s food, “Looks like the Ides of March all over again. Do you want me to go chew them out?” She jerked her head towards Lucy and Kara.

Lean sighed. “No. It’s fine. I just allowed myself to possibly think that, maybe, Kara wouldn’t judge me for what Lex did. And then we were walking over and I heard some of what they said and, I don’t know, I’m angry. Except, I’m angry at myself for thinking someone wouldn’t hate me because I’m a _Luthor_.” Lena all put spat out the name.

“Lena, it must really suck to always feel judged. And for that I’m sorry.” Sam reached out and laid a hand on the younger woman’s arm. “But, and, not to play devil’s advocate, I didn’t actually hear Kara say anything bad. That was all the brunette one, Lucy.”

“I suppose.”

“I researched Kara–after Jack called me to tell me you were tutoring her–and she seems like a great person.”

“Jack did what now?” Lena shot Sam a look over the top of her class. It would have made any other person quiver, but Sam just ignored it.

“I acknowledge that there are plenty of assholes in this world who lump you in with Lex and that hag Lillian and I respect that you always feel judged and that you are wary of letting Kara in. But at least keep tutoring her. She’s smart and nice and could really be good for you.

If she turns out to be a jerk I will personally slug her.”

Lena felt a smile tugging at her lips. “Are you suggesting that I replace you and Jack as friends? Because that’s a very tempting offer since you both apparently gossip about me.”

Sam rolled her eyes, “Please you couldn’t get rid of us if you tried.”

Lena huffed, “I wouldn’t want to.”

The continued to eat in silence for a few moments until Lena couldn’t take it anymore.

“Back to Kara. She probably won’t even want to be tutored by me anymore. I mean, now she knows who I am, without a doubt. She probably doesn’t want to come near me with a ten for pole.”

“Give her a chance.”

“Fine,” Lena groaned. “I don’t know why I’m listening to you, but I will.”

“It’s because you know I have a point. Also,” Sam quirked an eyebrow, “Kara is very attractive.”

Lena narrowed her eyes at Sam, “Your point being?”

“I’m just saying. You’re giving up what precious free time you have to help her with extra tutoring sessions–don’t give me that look– and you went to go say hello to her today. Those aren’t the usual behaviours of ice queen Lena Luthor.”

“Shut up”, Lena grumbled.

Sam ‘ _ooooh’ed_ ’, “Lena, you have a crush on Kara!”

Lena leveled Sam with her ‘I can and will destroy you’ stare. “Samantha Arias, I do not have a crush. I just want to help her learn.”

Sam just smirked.

Lena studied her salad, before carefully selecting a crouton.

“Lena! Stop throwing your food!”

#####

Sunday rolled around and found Kara face down in her bed, burrowed under the covers, and drooling on her pillow.

Then, a loud ring pierced the air.

Kara shot upright. “What the fu–”

Fumbling with the phone–it showed Alex’s caller ID–Kara answered it.

“Hey sis, what’s up?”

“Kaaaaaaaara, whasssssup. How is my sister little?” Her words slurred together.

“Uh, Alex, are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m great. Just peachyyyyyyy. Just here sitting, no sitting here, thinking about how I’ll never be happy and how,” she hiccupped, “I won’t find love becausssssse she was the one and now ssssshe’s gone. POOF. Just walked fucking out the door,” Alex’s voice trailed off, “Gone.” She broke down crying.

“Alex, I’m coming over. Just stay there! Okay?” Kara had never felt so frantic. Her hands shook so much she could barely put her clothes on. She nabbed Lucy’s car keys and in less than 5 minutes she was out of the apartment and on the road to her sister’s apartment.

“ALEX!” Kara let herself into Alex’s apartment, “Alex, where are you?”

All the curtains were drawn in the place and there were empty and half eaten cartons of food all over the kitchen. Kara cautiously made her way into the living room area.

“Oh, Alex.”

Alex was sitting, back propped against the couch, with a bottle of whiskey in her hands. Her clothes were rumpled and her hair was standing on end, as if she had been running her hands through it constantly.

Kara dropped to her knees next to her sister.

“Come here.” Alex fell into Kara’s embrace. She cried onto Kara’s shoulder while Kara whispered that she had her, and that she wouldn’t be letting go.

Finally, Alex’s tears dried up and exhaustion caught up with her.

“I’m so sorry, Kara,” she murmured into Kara’s shoulder.

“Don’t apologise. There’s no need.” Kara assured her. “Do you want to talk at all? No pressure.”

Alex let out a deep sigh and removed herself from the hug. “Maggie and I broke up.”

Kara’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. She definitely had not seen that coming. Maggie and Alex had been together for nearly 2 years and were engaged to be married. They had met at a joint NCPD and FBI crime scene–Alex had described Maggie as a ‘cocky local beat cop’ who didn’t understand forensics and ‘wouldn’t be able to use a pipette if her life depended on it’–and had been forced to work together. Their partnership had helped them grow close and eventually Maggie had helped Alex come out of the closest. Finding out her sister was lesbian was a shock to Kara, but she had supported Alex as best she could. She held her when Alex cried after Maggie rejected her the first time and then toasted the 2 women when they got engaged and now, here she was, holding her sister again.

“She just doesn’t want kids.” Alex said quietly. “I thought we could work around it, you know come up with a compromise. But I guess not. She told me that there are some things you can’t compromise on and kids are one because no matter what you chose, to have them or not, someone is always going to have to give in and even if they say they’re fine with it, deep down they’re not.

For her, that was a deal breaker. So, she upped and left.”

Kara’s heart broke and she felt anger bubbling in her chest. Anger directed at Maggie. The short detective had been so good for Alex in so many ways, but she’d also hurt her in so many other ways. _If I ever see her again, she’s so in for it._

“How long ago was that?” Kara asked softly.

“A month ago,” Alex reached for the whiskey bottle.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Kara exclaimed. “You shouldn’t have had to hold this in for so long.”

Alex shrugged and took a swig from the bottle, “I didn’t want to bother you. You’ve got so much on your plate right now. You can’t play soccer. You’re behind in classes. I would’ve just been adding to the pile.”

Kara pried the bottle out of her sister’s hand. “Alex, you’re never a burden. I want to be here to support you, however that may be. I love you with all my heart. You don’t deserve to go through this alone. You’ve done so much for me, let me do the same for you.”

Tears leaked out of the corners of Alex’s eyes. “What’s the use Kara? I’ll always just be un-loved and dependent on a bottle.”

“Bullshit,” Kara said. “Remember how angry I used to be? When I got angry, I would smash anything and scream at anyone. I’ve worked through that. And you can work through this too Alex. It’s gonna take time, but you’ll work through this. You’re the strongest person I know.”

Alex didn’t say anything. She lurched to her feet and grabbed the bottle of whiskey. Kara scrambled after her in case Alex fell. Somehow the redhead made it to the kitchen sink. She turned the bottle upside down and sloppily poured the liquid down the drain.

Kara smiled. “Way to go Alex.”

Her sister gave a resolute nod. And then proceed to empty her stomach contents onto the floor.

“Oh, fuck me,” she groaned before stumbling to the bathroom. Kara made sure she was all set up by the toilet (she gave her a towel and shoved 3 glasses of water into her hands) before cleaning up the apartment. Somehow the vomit had gone everywhere (even onto the boot that encased Kara’s right foot, which was gross). With the take-out containers in the garbage, vomit mopped up, and the curtains opened, Kara ventured back into the bathroom.

Alex was asleep on the floor. Kara prodded her awake.

“Let’s get you to sleep, big sis.  You can take on the world tomorrow.”

Once in the bedroom, Alex collapsed onto the bed. She tugged on Kara’s sleeve and the blonde woman also got into the bed.

The two fell asleep, cuddled together, secure in their love for each other.

#####

It was Monday morning, just before 7 am and Lena was seated at her usual table in Watkins library. Her textbook was open, notebook out, and pen in hand but she couldn’t focus enough to take notes. Too many thoughts were swirling around her brain.

On Sunday her mother had called. Well, Lillian technically wasn’t her mother and she never treated Lena like her daughter, but she always insisted Lena call her mother in order to keep up appearances because “the whole world doesn’t need to know your Lionel’s bastard child, Lena.” Lena should’ve known the call wouldn’t go well. Lilian had asked how she was doing and without waiting for an answer, proceeded to beret Lena for receiving an A- on her first paper.

Unsurprisingly, the call deteriorated from there. Lillian helpfully reminded Lena that she was running the family company– but not well enough– and she needed to measure up to the Luthor standard. At that, Lena had lost it a little bit. She had told Lillian that she didn’t want to live up to that standard if it meant being a xenophobic mass murderer. Lilian had hung up shortly after that but not before telling Lena she wouldn’t stand for such insults.

Lena had cried herself to sleep that night. The rational part of her knew that Lillian didn’t care about her, so Lena shouldn’t care about her opinions and expectations. But the lonely, neglected child inside of her screamed for affection and approval.

The sound of a throat being cleared broke Lena out of her thoughts. Kara Danvers stood less than five feet away, looking tired but cheery.

“Hiya Lena!”

“Hello, Kara.”

“How are you doing today?” Kara sat down and started pulling her books and computer.

Lena merely gave a tight-lipped smile. She was in a bad mood and determined not to let Kara’s sunshine in.

As the session wore on, it became clear she wasn’t the only one lost in her thoughts. Kara lost her train of thought more than usual and she didn’t talk nearly as much. The smile that started on her face slipped off and didn’t reappear.

After nearly an hour they had only worked through one problem, far below their usual pace. Kara huffed out a breath and ran her hands through her hair. She looked incredibly frustrated. Without consciously planning to say anything, Lean said, “Everyone has those rough days where things don’t click as quickly as we’d like. Don’t get to worked up about it.”

Kara pursed her lips, “It’s not just this…I’m just" she groaned a little bit, "Thank you, Lena.” She gave Lena a small smile.

Lena blamed the next words that came out of her mouth on said smile, “Do you want to walk to Noonan’s and get some coffee? I always find that caffeine cheers me up.” _What did I just say?_

Kara’s eyes went wide, “I forgot to bring us coffee! Ohmygosh I am so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lena quirked her lips up, “I didn’t expect you to bring sustenance every time. Today, coffee is on me.” _Please stop talking._

A genuine smile lit up Kara’s face, “Thank you.” 

 

They wandered over to Noonan’s and ordered coffee and danishes. Kara nabbed them a spot by the window.

“So, what do you need cheering up about?”

Lena paused mid-sip, caught off guard by the blonde’ s question.

“If you want to answer of course, no pressure, like none at all. I just assumed that you needed cheering up too and that’s why you suggested coffee, which was me making bad assumptions. And then I went and said something. So, uh, yeah, s-sorry.” Kara fidgeted nervously, pushing the frame of her glasses up.

Kara’s nerves put Lena at ease; Kara genuinely wanted to know why Lena wasn’t feeling the best. “You’re fine Kara. I was just…surprised you asked that’s all.”

Kara frowned slightly over the rim of her coffee, a crinkle appearing between her eyes.

Lena pursed her lips and slowly took a sip of coffee. “My mother called last night. We don’t get along,” she stated bluntly. “And I am always in a bad mood after I talk with her. So, I suppose that’s why I need cheering up.” Suddenly embarrassed she had shared that, Lena took a bite of danish for something to do. She nearly spit it back out it was so sugary and sweet.

The crinkle between Kara’s eyes deepened. “I’m sorry you don’t get along. It can’t be fun to fight with your parents.”

Lena shrugged. _If only you knew._ “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s on your mind today?”

Kara grimaced, “It’s not one hundred percent my story to tell, but I can say that my sister is going through a rough break up so I guess I’m just feeling for her. And well, not being able to play soccer has also got me into a funk.”

“I’m sorry your sister is going through that. And I’m sorry you’re feeling down.”

“Thanks Lena.”

They moved on to lighter topics of conversation. Kara was shocked to find out Lena was only 22 (“Lena! You’re so smart!”). And, in turn, Lena was surprised to find out that Kara had physics as a minor (“I really like space and math so it seemed like a natural choice”).

Before Lena knew it, nearly an hour had passed, and she needed to leave to TA.

“Kara, thank you. I enjoyed spending time with you. It was nice to talk to you and just relax.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I do have to leave to go TA a class unfortunately.”

Kara chuckled, “You won’t skip class for me?  I’m offended.”

Lena shook her head and laughed.

“Hey, did you wanna exchange phone numbers?” Kara asked. “You know, so it’s easier to communicate?”

Lena felt her heart rate spike. Before she could second guess herself, she handed her phone over to Kara. Kara grinned.

“Thank you again for the coffee. It really did cheer me up.”

“You’re welcome. I feel the same way.”

Lena stood up Kara stuck her fist out towards her.

“Fist bump?” A light blush was creeping into Kara’s cheeks. “I want to hug you again but I don’t want to overstep.”

For the second time in just a few moments, Lena’s heart rate spiked. Slowly she reached out and rested her fist against Kara’s.

“See you around Supergirl.” And with that she walked out of Noonan’s.

_Supergirl?? Why the hell did I say that…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> Remember how I said I already had most of this chapter written? I finished it and figured I would post it (it's a bit longer too, idk how long an average chapter will be tho). I know for a fact that this one day between chapters is not gonna be a regular thing. That being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
> 
> This chapter is clearly a little darker than the first one, but I don't foresee the story ever getting much darker than this (no graphic descriptions or, like, kidnappings or death scenes or anything).
> 
> Thanks for all the comments they made me very happy.
> 
> Uh I don't think I have anything else to say.
> 
> Cheers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Supergirl to the Rescue**

 

“What do you mean I have to take a gym credit to receive my degree?” Lena was staring at her graduate advisor like he had grown an extra head; it would’ve made more sense than the gibberish he was spouting. “That’s ridiculous. I am in a Master’s program for computer programming not for physical ed. I won’t be taking a gym credit.”

Her counselor sighed, “Ms. Luthor, if you do not take a gym credit, you will not receive your degree. Here at NCU we require a diverse credit load for all programs. We reviewed your MIT transcripts and determined that your classes covered all of our program requirements, except for the physical credit requirement.”

“Why do I need a physical credit? I am, I repeat, on a track to receive my Masters in computer programming,” Lena practically hissed the words out.

“Ms. Luthor. I will not argue with you on this point anymore. It is a simple fact and it can’t be changed.”

Lena nearly told him where he could stick his simple fact, instead, through gritted teeth she asked, “What are my options.”

Her counselor practically shoved the class list in her face, clearly nervous Lena would change her mind.

Sighing through her nose, Lena stared down the list, willing there to be an agreeable class. Only one in particular stood out, ‘The Beautiful Game: Soccer’. Blue eyes and a smile flashed before Lena’s eyes. “I suppose I’ll take this one.”

20 minutes later, Lena left College of Science and Engineering Advisors Office, and had never been happier to do so. In her left hand she held the piece of paper condemning her to a gym class for an entire semester. She needed to vent.

“Sam Arias, CFO of Luthor Corp, badass mother, and Holder of All Knowledge Ever.”

“Hello to you too, Sam.” Lena said with a small grin.

“I can here you smiling through the phone, Lena.”

Lena chuckled, “Whatever you say. Do you have time to talk later tonight?”

“Uh” she heard some papers shuffling around, “Ruby and I are having a girl’s night tonight, but I’m sure Ruby would be happy for her aunt to swing by. We can talk after she goes to bed.”

“That’d be great Sam.”

“What’s up?” concern laced Sam’s voice.

“Nothing too serious; my mom called and NCU is forcing me to take a gym class.”

“Yikes to your mother calling–I’ll break out the wine for that conversation–but taking a gym class can’t be that bad.”

“You know I don’t do athletics.”

Sam mumbled something under her breath. Lena didn’t catch it, but she suspected it wasn’t exactly a flattering opinion.

“If you’re going to be like that, I’m hanging up,” Lena said without any real malice.

“You know you love me,” wheedled Sam.

“I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Leeeeena.”

“See you soon, Sam.”

 

At exactly 8pm, Lena rang the Arias household doorbell. The loud patter of feet reached her ears and the door was thrown open by a mini-Sam.

“Ruby!” Lena bent down and scooped up the 10-year-old. “How is my favorite girl?” Ruby was Sam’s daughter and Lena considered herself her aunt.

“I’m amazing! I did really well in the math competition at school today. My teacher gave me a gold star!”

“That’s great, Ruby.” Lena set Ruby down (her body really did not appreciate her picking the young girl up) and followed her deeper into the house. “Tell me one math fact you like.”

“Uhh,” Ruby scrunched up her face, thinking. “If a equals b and b equals c than a equals c.”

“Oh! That’s a good one,” Lena commented.

Ruby beamed, proud that her aunt approved. “Are you here to watch a movie with us Aunt Lena?”

Before Lena could answer, Sam’s voice floated out from the kitchen, “We just finished watching a movie, Ruby. It’s nearly your bed time. But, I could be persuaded to let us all watch one episode of Psych if you do your hair, face, teeth, and pj routine right now.”

Ruby’s eyes went wide. “Gotta go Aunt Lena. I’ll be right back. Save me a spot next to you!”  Ruby took off up the stairs towards her room.

Chuckling at Ruby’s antics, Lena sauntered into the kitchen. Sam was bent over the sink, scrubbing a particularly greasy pan. “CFO of a Fortune 500 country by day, human dishwasher by night,” Lena commented dryly.

Sam started to laugh. “Oh, you’re in fine form tonight.”

“When am I not?” Lena asked, one eyebrow raised.

Sam just shook her head, “I’ll have you know I didn’t own a dishwasher until I was 25, so I’m perfectly used to washing dishes by hand.”

“You’ve come so far,” Lena murmured softly, all traces of humor gone. Sam had gotten pregnant at 17 and her family had thrown her out. She had struggled though college on a mix of scholarships, working 3 jobs, and living out of a car with a 3 and 4-year-old Ruby. She had graduated a year early and with the money from her first job (a low-level IT position) she had rented her first apartment. From there, her hard work paid off. Her next job paid to put her through a course at MIT and that was where she had met Lena. The two had become friends, against all odds. When Lena had taken over L-Corp she had handed the reins to the only person she trusted completely: Sam. By age 27, Sam was both a CFO and a single-mother to a 10-year-old daughter. Her strength never ceased to amaze Lena.

“Earth to Lena,” Sam was standing in front of her. “Are you okay? You zoned out.”

Lena jerked, “Uh, yes, I’m fine. That’s been happening a lot this week. The stress of everything might be starting to catch up to me.”

Sam frowned in concern but before she could say anything, a blur ran into the kitchen and latched itself onto Lena.

“I’m ready!” Ruby exclaimed.

 

2 episodes of Psych later, Ruby was tucked into bed and Lena and Sam were seated on the couch alone.

“Where do you want to start?” Sam reclined against the arm of the couch, wine glass in hand, and an expectant look on her face.

Lena sat down opposite Sam and hugged her arms to her chest. “Let’s start heavy. Lillian called. She said I wasn’t doing the right things with the company, and that my grades were suffering because I wasn’t studying hard enough.” Lena fiddled with her hands, unable to meet Sam’s eyes. “So, the usual grievances. But this time it affected me a lot.” Her voice cracked. “I just…” She couldn’t continue and tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Oh, honey.” Sam pulled her into a tight hug (Lena hated that her body tensed up reflexively) and started to stroke her hair. “Just cry. Let it all out.”

After several minutes, Lena’s tears ran out and she sat up. “Thanks, Sam”, she sniffled.

“Any time,” Sam brushed Lena’s hair out of her face. “I just want to tell you: it’s normal to want validation from your parents, no matter how they treat you, and it’s difficult, if not impossible, to be able to let go of that need. They’re supposed to love you and cherish you and build you up, and when they don’t it fucks you up. You’re so strong Lena, don’t forget that. You’re doing amazing; your grades are good and you’re helping run a huge company. Don’t ever let Lillian try and tear you down.”

“Sometimes, it’s just hard to remember I have,” Lean paused, “self-worth” She said the last words dubiously.

Sam sighed, “I know, I know. But I’ll keep reminding you until you believe it.”

Lena gave her a small smile. The two women sat in silence.

“So, this gym class.”

Lena let out a snort of laughter. Sam always knew how to lighten her mood. “It’s utter bullshit. Apparently, there is diverse class requirements for master’s programs that my MIT class load didn’t satisfy. And so now, I’m stuck taking, ‘The Beautiful Game: Soccer’ for a credit. I can’t believe I’m going to get sweaty twice a week.”

Sam just looked at her, an amused expression dancing on her face. “Soccer, huh? Doesn’t one Kara Danvers play soccer?”

“She does,” Lena said, trying to seem nonchalant.

“Annnnnnd would that have any reason to do with you picking soccer for your gym class?”

“No.”

“Hmm. You’re sure you didn’t sign up for the class to impress her?”

“Sammmm,” Lena whined, “I didn’t take the class because of her,” _I really didn’t_ , “it was the only one that fit with my schedule,” _I mean technically it didn’t and the rhythmic gymnastics class did, but who wants to take that,_ “and I would never do something just for a girl, _would I?_ “I’m just trying to graduate; not find a common ground with someone I’m tutoring.” _Oh, I took this class just for a girl._

Sam huffed in disbelief. “Whatever you say, Lena.”

They talked aimlessly for a little bit longer, just being in Sam’s presence calmed Lena down, until Sam declared her old bones needed to go to bed.

“Off to bed with you now. It’s a school night.” Sam made to shoo Lena out the door.

“You must realize that I have at least another 2 hours of studying to do tonight.”

Sam pursed her lips, “I do, but I don’t want to think about it. Promise me you’ll be in bed by 1 am.”

Lena shifted. “Sure.”

Sam groaned. “2 am.”

“More likely.”

“Lena, that’s not healthy.”

Lena just shrugged, “Yes, mother.”

Sam’s only response was a single finger.

Lena was still laughing when she crawled into bed at 2:30 AM.

 

#####

 

Kara couldn’t believe her eyes. The lenses on her glasses must be dirty. Or she had eaten some moldy bread and was now hallucinating. Nothing this strange could ever occur. And yet, right across from her favorite lunch spot (a table under a tree, which provided both optimal light and shade) was the recreational sports field and running around on that field, playing soccer, was none other than Lena Luthor.

She couldn’t stop staring. She felt herself staring, but she couldn’t wrench her eyes off of the raven-haired woman. _I didn’t know Lena played soccer._ The thought caused Kara to smile. She plopped down on her table and watched. Lena was not very good; she struggled to trap the ball and she could barely dribble at all. Kara found herself smiling softly as the other woman stomped around the field; Lena was incredibly smart, but athletics were not something she excelled at. It was still adorable to watch. _It’s adorable? Where did that come from?_

After 30 minutes the coach yelled, “Class dismissed” and Kara took off towards the field, jogging as fast as her booted-foot would allow.

 “Lena!”

The engineer whipped around. “Kara!” _Is Lena’s voice higher than normal?_

“You play soccer?”

“Uhh. No. It’s for a physical ed credit.” _She’s really red right now, she must be really hot from running around._

“Oh, that’s cool! I didn’t know people in Master’s programs needed a gym class.”

Lena growled, “I didn’t either. I was forced to take this class.” She moodily stuffed her shoes into her gym bag.

Kara laughed. “Oh, come on, soccer is not that bad! It’s really fun.” Without thinking, she picked up Lena’s normal backpack (it was more of a satchel) and started to walk with the other woman towards the heart of campus.

“It’s awful. I make robots. I don’t run around and get sweaty; it’s not who I am.”

Kara couldn’t help but laugh. She gently bumped her shoulder against Lena’s, “I think you just don’t like it because you’re not good at it.”

Lena didn’t respond right away. “I don’t think that’s it.”

“Sure.” Kara dragged the word out, to emphasize how much she totally believed the other woman. “Give it a couple of classes, you’ll learn to love soccer once you understand it…and can actually dribble the ball.”

Lena rolled her eyes, “Thanks for the reminder that I suck at sports. I’d settle for passing the class, but at this rate it doesn’t look like I will.”

“Oh! Well, I play soccer, I mean you know that already, and I’m pretty good –that sounds like bragging I swear I’m not– I’d totally love –enjoy! –teaching you some basics of soccer so you can pass. Not that uh, you know, I doubt that you couldn’t pass on your own. I mean you’re really smart you’d figure out a way to pass. Oh man, I didn’t mean to imply you’d like cheat or something. Geez, uh, so yeah. Not to pressure you or anything but yeah, I could totally help you.” _Oh, boy._

Lena’s eyebrows were halfway up her forehead. “Kara,” she started carefully.

“It was just a thought.” Kara hurried to interrupt. _Way to go._

Lena was silent for a moment, looking up at the skies as if asking ‘why me?’, before exhaling a large breath. “You’d really be willing to teach me to play?”

“Of course,” an easy smiled returned to her face, “I love sharing my passions with someone and besides, I feel like after all this time we’ve spent together in the library, we’re friends. Right? And friends help friends out.”

Lena squeaked and then quickly cleared her throat. “Yes, I suppose we are.” Then, “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Kara grinned. “When did you want to meet to practice?”

“Would Tuesday nights work? Since you are so close to being caught up in your math class– it’s honestly quite impressive how quickly you learned all that material– I figured we could replace my math tutoring with some soccer.”

Kara felt a smile splitting her face. “Sounds perfect to me.”

Lena stopped in front of the engineering building, “Well this is my class.” She held out her hand. Kara stared at it. _Does she want me to hold her hand?_ “Kara, I need my bag back.” _Oh._

“Oh yeah! Right. Sorry. Here ya go.” Kara passed the bag off to its rightful owner and shoved her hands into her pockets. ~~~~

Lena held out her hand again. “Give me your phone. We should finally exchange numbers, no?”

“No! I mean, yes? I mean, we should definitely exchange numbers.” Kara traded phones with Lena.

“Right, I guess I’ll see you Monday morning again then, huh?”

Lena shoved Kara’s phone back into hand and took her own. “I suppose you will, Supergirl” and, with a soft smile, she turned and walked into the building, leaving Kara to call out goodbye.

Kara felt a warmth spreading through her body and a large smile slid onto her face.

Suddenly her phone buzzed. _Lena!?_

            <<< **Lucy** >>>: Where the fuck are you Danvers? Class started 5 minutes ago!

_OH SHIT._

#####

 

“Turn your hips! Put some thrust into the motion.”

Kara heard Lena grunt, the other woman pushing herself to go faster.

“Keeping going!”

Kara stood on the sidelines of the recreational soccer field, clipboard in hand, whistle around neck, and hat on head, trying to help Lena improve her soccer skills. It wasn’t going too well.

With a gigantic effort, Lena kicked the soccer ball, aiming for the back of the goal. Instead, she stepped on the ball and fell over.

Kara couldn’t help herself, she burst out laughing. “I’m s-s-s-orry, I know that you’re, you’re trying. I’ve jus-just never seen a soccer ball do-do t-t-that to someone.” She could barely get the words out between laughs.

From her position flat on her back, Lena stuck up her middle finger. Still chuckling, Kara walked over and helped Lena to her feet. The other woman, remained hunched over, trying to catch her breath. Finally, Lena stood up straight and levelled Kara with a glare. “You’re supposed to help me get better. Not laugh at me,” she whined. “What kind of coach are you? Why do you even have a clipboard?”

“Hey! I’ll have you know this clipboard is essential.” Kara said, acting affronted. “I am sorry I laughed at you though. Are you alright? How is your butt?”

Lena grumbled. “My butt is just fine, thank you. My pride not so much.”

Kara smiled sympathetically. “Ah don’t worry about it. I am not judging. How about we call it done for the night?”

Lena readily agreed.

As the 2 packed up their gear (Kara had brought lots of snacks to eat, while Lena had brought an actual workout bag), Kara leant around Lena to grab her water bottle and brushed against the other woman’s back.

“OW!” A sickening crack followed by searing pain sent Kara sprawling on the ground. “What the frick-frack?!” She brought her hand up to her nose and it came away bloody. “Did you elbow me?”

“Oh, bloody hell, Kara, I’m so sorry.” Lena knelt down in front Kara, reaching towards her. “I didn’t mean to, I just…” she sighed. “Let me have a look at it.”

Tears in her eyes, Kara removed her hand, but she kept it below her chin in an effort to catch the blood. Lena titled Kara’s head side to side. “Well, fuck. I think it’s broken.” Lena reached into her gym bag and pulled out a towel. “Use this.”

“’Fanks,” Kara muttered, her voice distorted. She made to get up and almost fell over again. “My fabe really hurts.” She moaned.

Lena was worrying at her lip, and Kara felt bad for making Lena feel bad, but at the same time her nose really frickin’ hurt.

“Come with me.”

 Lena helped Kara stand up and guided her to Lena’s car. It was a nice car, like really nice and Kara was worried about dripping blood all over it. As if sensing her hesitation, Lena poked her out from behind the trunk. “Get in, Kara. You’re fine.”

“Where are we going?” Kara asked, still standing outside the car.

“My place, so we can get you cleaned up. Now, get in. Please.”

The drive to Lena’s apartment didn’t take too long, but with every passing second, the throbbing in Kara’s nose worsened. “Lena, you don’t habe to do this. I can just get my sister to check out my nobse. She did go to meb school for a bit.”

Lena shook her head, “I elbowed you, I’m going to patch you up.” She was silent for a bit longer, “I feel so bad.”

“Don’t. I scared you and you reacted. No need to feel bad aboub it” Kara shot Lena a sincere look.

Lena just tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Kara felt a pang of worry and sadness spike through her body. She didn’t like seeing Lena in distress, but she didn’t want to push her.

A few minutes later they arrived at their destination.

Lena’s apartment was large, it was probably the size of two of Kara’s. But it didn’t feel lived in. All the furniture was stiff and modern and the walls were bare of any decorations. The apartment felt like all sharp angles and sterile white paint.

Kara hovered in the doorway, unsure what to do, while Lena swept in. She disappeared down a hallway. The sound doors slamming reached Kara’s ears, followed by a sink running.

“Kara. Come here, please.” Lena yelled.

Obediently, Kara shuffled down the hall. She was sure she looked ridiculous; a boot on one foot and a bloody towel on her face. She found Lena in the bathroom.

“I have a warm wash cloth, nose plugs, pain killers, and a change of clothes for you because there’s blood on your shirt.” Lena seemed nervous so Kara smiled to try and put her at ease.

“Thanks Lena!”

Lena merely nodded and swept out of the room. Kara took her time mopping up her face and stopping up her nose. After she got the bleeding to stop, she carefully squiggled out of her shirt and rinsed the blood out of her shirt as best she could. Lena had given her an MIT t-shirt in replacement. It was just a little bit tight since Lena was smaller than her, but she didn’t mind, it was soft and smelled like Lena.

After gulping down 2 pain killers, Kara went in search of Lena. She found her in the kitchen, staring off into the distance. Kara cleared her throat softly.

Lena jumped. “Kara.” _Her eyes aren’t on my face, right now. Or are they? Now they are. I was just imagining that._

“Hey.”

Kara sat down across from her. “What’s on your mind?”

“I want to apologize. All you did was graze my back by accident and I elbowed you in the face. It was an overreaction on my part.”

“But an overreaction with a reason, right?” Kara probed.

Lena sighed. “Yes. I…I-I don’t do well with touch.”

“That’s okay,” Kara said softly.

“God, I’ve really screwed up this friendship, haven’t I?” Lena closed her eyes.

Kara cocked her head to the side, she’d heard something new in Lena’s voice. “Do you have an accent?”

A blush crept up Lena’s cheeks. “Yes. Technically, I’m Irish.”

“What?” Kara gasped. “I didn’t know that? That’s cool. Did you live there for long?”

“Yes. I was born there and I went to boarding school there as well. I also speak Gaelic.”

“That’s amazing Lena.”

She chuckled, “So you aren’t mad at me?”

“Nah, I never could be.” Kara said earnestly. “And I definitely still want to teach you some soccer.”

“Technically, it’s football.” Lena teased, accent more pronounced. _Golly I like her accent._

“Do you want me to coach you or not?” Kara shot right back.

“Of course,” Lena said, her tone dripping with sarcasm, “What ever would I do without Supergirl around to save my GPA from this gym class?”

“Well, Supergirl will always be here to rescue you, Lena Luthor.” _So, so cheesy. Let’s not do that anymore._

Lena laughed. “Ah, but seriously, thank you for everything Kara. I really appreciate it. And sorry again for probably breaking your nose.”

Kara waved her off, “Buy me lunch or something, but please stop apologizing. I forgave you ages ago.”

For some reason Lena flushed.

“Anyways, I should get going. It’s late.”

Lena stood up, “How are you going to get to your apartment? I could drive you there.”

“That’s not necessary, I actually live pretty close by to you; its only like 4 blocks.”

“Oh,” Lena had moved closer, “Well have a safe walk then. Text me when you get back…so I know you’re safe.” _She is sort of staring at my arms, weird._

“Will do.” Kara turned, one hand on the doorknob, and held out a fist. She really wanted to hug Lena goodbye, but didn’t want to make the other woman uncomfortable with too much touch.

Slowly, Lena reciprocated the gesture.

“Night, Lena.”

“Night, Kara.” _Is she looking at my lips??_ But then the door was closed and Kara was hurrying through the starlit night, wondering if maybe the reason for the permanent grin on her face was a certain dark-haired engineer, who absolutely couldn’t play soccer. She was pretty certain it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey.
> 
> I'm back at it again with chapter 3. lemme tell you i enjoyed writing certain parts of this way tooooo much(i.e. the start of the last section). i'm happy i got this chapter up and out because some times it feels like i have so many directions that i want to take the story that i just don't do anything.
> 
> fun fact, the reference to moldy bread is me being salty that the last 8 pieces of my loaf went bad less than a week after i bought it.
> 
> also, i know i tagged this as sam/alex and we will hopefully get to see them in chapter 4, but they will be a minor pairing. 
> 
> finally, this chapter had some heavy-ish stuff in it so i plan on making the next chapter a bit more light and cheery( with a lot of funny bits)
> 
> as always, thanks for the comments. i really appreciate them. 
> 
> cheers.


End file.
